ANAHEIM : Tourists Warned by Malathion Foes

Carrying signs with slogans such as “From the Magic Kingdom to the Tragic Kingdom, Who Poisoned Donald and Mickey?”, a small band of malathion protesters warned tourists to stay indoors during Thursday night’s spraying.

Disneyland, which is not in the spray zone, would be open until midnight, and the protesters were worried that tourists might be walking back to hotels during the spraying that started at 9 p.m.

“We’re trying to alert them that it isn’t OK, despite what the hotels are telling them,” said William Whaley, a Stanton resident whose home is in the spray zone. He was picketing with his two daughters outside the Anaheim Marriott and Anaheim Hilton and Towers hotels.

The two dozen protesters complained that Disneyland-area hotels had not adequately informed guests of Thursday night’s spraying. Some hotels, such as the Marriott, do provide patrons with information sheets, but a number do not, the protesters said.

The response of tourists to the protests was mixed.

“I wish (the hotel) would have given us something on it,” said Mike Lonnemann of Kentucky, who was staying at the Hilton with his wife and two children. “We could have made plans to go to dinner a little earlier and then stayed inside the rest of the evening.”

But most hotel guests who strolled past the protesters said an earlier warning about the spraying would not have altered their plans much.

A Disneyland spokesman said the park did not inform guests of the spraying just south of the theme park’s borders and does not have a plan for doing so if the spray zone eventually includes the Magic Kingdom.

“When the time comes, we’ll talk about it,” said Bob Roth, a Disneyland spokesman.

The Thursday night spraying coincides with the expansion of the North County spraying into the Diamond Bar and Walnut area.

Protesters said about 10 people also picketed briefly outside Disneyland Wednesday night to inform tourists of the upcoming spraying.